The Scouse comedian told the ECHO about why Blackpool week is so important in an exclusive interview with the ECHO
Strictly Come Dancing’s Chris McCausland has shared the emotional reason why Blackpool Week is so important. The Scouse comedian is the BBC show’s first ever blind contestant and has wowed fans with his incredible performances alongside Dianne Buswell.
Tonight marks one of the highlights of the Strictly calendar year as the dancers will perform at the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom. Although Chris is keen to continue in the competition for as long as possible, he issued an update on when he would be ready to exit the contest as he said it would mean the world to book his spot in next week’s show.
He told the ECHO in an exclusive interview: “Me and Dianne have really had this pipe dream of being here the week after Blackpool because her mum and dad are coming from Australia and they haven’t seen her dance live for eight years. If we can get through these next two weeks then we’ve hit our goal of her being able to have that moment.
“This is nothing without her, she has got the most out of me and I think it will be nice if we’re both able to give something to each other. If we can get to that moment then stick a fork in me, I’ll be done. But certainly, I’m hoping to stay in this for as long as possible.”
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However, Chris is keen to go as far as he can in the contest as he explained how special his journey in the contest has been up to this point. He said: “When I came into it, I wanted to surprise people, surprise myself and do more than people would think is possible, but that was a pipedream.
“There was a chance that it could be a disaster. There was a very real possibility that I could have gone out in the first round. But it’s worked and that’s not just because of me. It’s worked because Dianne has been willing to take risks and been willing to put the hours in.
“We haven’t tried to pare it back or dumb it down. We’ve really tried to wow people and do impressive things. People have loved it and it’s all worked so far, but it’s surprised me as much as anyone else.”
The dancers are set to perform an American Smooth to Jump by Paul Anka on tonight’s show. They will hope to put in another equally incredible performance as last week when they performed the Couple’s Choice to Instant Karma by John Lennon.
In their weekly vlogs, it was revealed Dianne managed to dance through the song despite feeling really unwell with a stomach bug. She said: “I wasn’t very well on Friday, I wasn’t very well Saturday, Sunday was a write off and Monday I still wasn’t very well.”
Dianne thanked Chris for helping her through her health struggle. She told him “Full marks to you for helping me through it. You did carry me through that.”
Chris is keen to give back to Dianne after all the guidance she has provided him so far in the competition. However, he joked he would be upset if the ballroom’s unique sprung dancefloor isn’t as bouncy as he has been warned. He joked in the video diary: “Everybody has gone on about this dancefloor being sprung so much that if I don’t step on one side and immediately bounce off the other side, I’m going to be so underwhelmed. ” Dianne laughed: “You’re going to be be upset.”
Chris said he has many memories from visiting Blackpool from Liverpool as a child and is looking forward to returning to the seaside town. He told the BBC: “I’ve got loads of memories of the seafront, the beach and the fairgrounds.
“I’d never go on rollercoasters when I was that age. I think because I could see them, they terrified me, whereas now I can’t see them, I’m not bothered so I’ll go on anything. Memories of the arcades and spending time in the early 90s there. I loved sticks of rock and donkey rides.”
Chris grew up in West Derby in the 1980s and credited the fearless approach that prompted him to take on the Strictly challenge as something he learned as a child. The comic, who was born with a genetic condition called retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and lost his sight aged 22, said his upbringing afforded him the independence he needed to make mistakes and learn from them.
He told the ECHO: “My sight was never perfect and it was deteriorating, but I could see. I was just in the street all day, there was no being wrapped in cotton wool.
“It was just get out there and do whatever anybody else was doing. Get in trouble running around West Derby. Climbing up the walls into gardens, playing football and getting up to no good. It was such a normal, risk-taking childhood.”
The comedian sees similarities with his story and the city that made him as he said how Liverpool has always been able to bounce back from setbacks to come out fighting and with a smile on its face.
He added: “With Liverpool, you can say it’s been through a lot in its recent history. But it’s always been brought together, in my lifetime, by music, football and comedy. That comedy and that sense of humour has always stuck with me.”
Chris moved to Kingston in London to study Software Engineering and is still based in the capital where he lives with his wife, Patricia, and daughter, Sophie. However, he remains deeply connected to Merseyside and wants to fly the flag for Liverpool whenever he can for as long as he can in Strictly Come Dancing. He said: “You can take the lad out of Liverpool, but you can’t take the Liverpool out of the lad.” Strictly Come Dancing is on tonight on BBC One at 6.45pm
